Katie Lam Blasts Labour Plan to House 1,250 Migrants Despite Kids’ Plea
A Conservative MP has condemned plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers at an Oxfordshire military barracks near a village of 296 residents, calling it inappropriate and dangerous.
Katie Lam, speaking according to Marcus Donaldson writing in GB News, criticised the decision to place migrants at MoD Bicester barracks near Piddington, where the influx would more than quadruple the existing community size.
The village is currently home to 250 adults and 46 children. Under the government’s plan, the migrant population would dwarf the number of local inhabitants by a ratio of more than four to one.
Children from Piddington have reportedly written letters to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is currently on holiday, pleading with him to reverse the decision and expressing their love for their village.
Safety Concerns Raised
Lam did not mince words about the potential consequences for the community, particularly vulnerable groups.
“We know that it is a danger to the public, particularly to women and to children, to bring in very large numbers of migrants, the vast majority men, to live amongst British people,” the Conservative MP stated.
She said parents in the village had every right to be worried about the proposed changes, which would fundamentally alter the character and safety of their community.
Government Pressed for U-Turn
The Home Office confirmed earlier this year that it had sought planning permission for three sites to accommodate thousands of small boat arrivals, with the Bicester barracks site among them.
Lam questioned the government’s reasoning behind selecting such a small, rural community for such a massive influx of asylum seekers. I don’t know what the Government is thinking, she said, describing the situation as unspeakably sad.
The MP called on Burnham to reconsider the decision and protect the village from what she characterised as an overwhelming and dangerous transformation imposed without proper consultation or regard for local safety.
The controversy highlights growing tensions over Labour’s approach to managing the ongoing migrant crisis, with rural communities increasingly finding themselves on the front lines of accommodation policies designed in Westminster.
With information from GB News
